The Digital Switchover in Southampton: What It Means for Your Personal Alarm
Analogue phone lines are retired on 31 January 2027 and every landline in Southampton becomes digital. A pendant alarm plugged into the phone socket in Shirley, Bitterne or Sholing may not be able to call for help afterwards. Southampton City Council's own description of its alarm service explains the risk in a single sentence, without meaning to.
Key facts
- The analogue phone network (PSTN) is retired on 31 January 2027.
- Southampton City Council runs CAREline, its 24 hour alarm and monitoring service, on 023 8083 3675.
- The council's own description says the pendant "automatically dials the CAREline Service via your telephone", which is exactly what changes in 2027.
- The city covers SO14 to SO19, from the centre and Ocean Village out to Bassett, Portswood, Bitterne and Thornhill.
What is changing in Southampton, and when?
Openreach is retiring the analogue telephone network by 31 January 2027. A home phone in Southampton will then run over the broadband connection, with the handset plugged into the router rather than the socket on the wall. The number does not change, and an ordinary call sounds no different.
The problem is everything else that used the line. Openreach reported roughly 2.8 million lines still on the old network in February 2026, and in the older terraces of Freemantle and Bevois Valley a fair share of them have an alarm plugged in next to the phone.
Will my personal alarm still work after the switch-off?
Only if it is digital ready or works over the mobile network. An analogue base unit dials out using audio tones down a copper line, and digital lines do not carry them reliably. The Telecare National Action Plan from DHSC and DSIT commits that no telecare user will be migrated to a digital landline without the communications provider, the customer or the telecare provider confirming that a compatible and functioning telecare solution is in place.
Power cuts are the second issue. A digital line depends on the broadband router, so it stops when the electricity does. Ofcom requires providers to give at least one hour of access to emergency organisations during a power cut, and says providers should offer battery backup free of charge to customers who depend on their landline to call the emergency services. That comes from the phone company and protects a 999 call, not the alarm.
How do I check whether my alarm uses the phone line?
- Follow the cable. A thin lead into a white phone socket means the alarm dials out down the old line. A lead into the broadband router means it is already converted. A power lead alone usually means a mobile unit.
- Check which service answers. A council alarm in Southampton is CAREline. Anything else will carry a company name on a sticker or the bank statement.
- Press the button and say it is a test. Confirm the operator hears you, knows the address, and holds the right key holders or key safe details.
What about alarms provided by Southampton City Council?
Southampton City Council's service is CAREline, described by the council as equipment designed to give you help and support from anywhere in the home, made up of a base unit and a pendant connected to a monitoring team around the clock. Silver Service is monitoring with two designated key holders at £3 a week plus VAT. Gold Service adds responders and a key safe at £4.25 a week plus VAT. Installation is £10 within the city boundary and £20 up to 20 miles outside. Ring 023 8083 3675 or use the council's online information request form.
Now read the council's own sentence about how it works. When the pendant is pressed, "it automatically dials the CAREline Service via your telephone". That is a fair description of an analogue alarm, and precisely the mechanism the switchover changes. It is not a criticism of the service, just the clearest statement of why this matters in Southampton.
Southampton City Council has not published guidance for CAREline users about the analogue to digital switchover. There is nothing about it on the CAREline pages and we found no separate council switchover page. A resident reading about their own alarm will find the charges, the service levels and the phone number, but no warning about January 2027. Use that number anyway, and ask a sharper question than the page invites.
What should Southampton residents do now?
Ring the landline provider and say somebody in the household relies on a personal alarm. That fact on the account triggers the national protections before an engineer converts the line.
Then ring CAREline on 023 8083 3675, give the address, and ask whether that base unit is analogue and what happens when the line is converted. Because installation reaches up to 20 miles outside the city, a relative in Eastleigh or Totton may also be a CAREline customer, so the same call works for them. A mobile connected alarm avoids the landline question entirely, which suits the flats around Ocean Village, St Mary's and Woolston where broadband is not in the resident's name. Any replacement should run on 4G, since 3G mobile networks are now switched off.
The single most important point for Southampton
The council says the CAREline pendant dials out via your telephone. If that is still true of the unit in a relative's home, it is the analogue arrangement the switchover ends. Ring 023 8083 3675, quote the address, and ask whether that base unit will work on a digital line.
Want a clear answer about a Southampton alarm?
Our UK monitoring centre in Southport answers alarm calls 24 hours a day, and 99.6% of alarm calls are answered in under 60 seconds. Describe what is plugged in and we will tell you plainly.
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Book a free call with HannahFrequently asked questions
CAREline, the council's 24 hour alarm and monitoring service, made up of a base unit and a pendant and reachable on 023 8083 3675. Silver Service costs £3 a week plus VAT. Gold Service, which adds responders and a key safe, costs £4.25 a week plus VAT.
Not that we could find. The CAREline pages set out charges, service levels and contact details, but say nothing about the analogue to digital change. That silence is why it is worth ringing 023 8083 3675 and asking about your own base unit rather than waiting.
Yes. Our monitoring centre is in Southport and serves the whole UK, so SO14 to SO19 are covered, including Shirley, Freemantle, Bassett, Swaythling, Bitterne Park, Sholing and Thornhill. Alarms are posted out and set up at home, with no assessment and no waiting list.
Possibly. The council's published installation charge covers addresses up to 20 miles outside the city boundary, at £20 rather than £10, so households in Eastleigh or Totton may already be CAREline customers. The same phone number will confirm it.
Where to start: tell your phone company an alarm is in use, then ring CAREline on 023 8083 3675 and ask whether that base unit works on a digital line. See our SOS pendant alarms in Southampton page, our digital switchover guide, or read what the 2027 landline switch off means for personal alarms. Ofcom explains your rights on its digital landline migration page. Call our UK team on 01704 332840.
Holden Grange is a UK telecare provider based in Southport, a TSA member and certified under the TEC Quality Standards Framework. Our alarm receiving centre is UK based and operates 24 hours a day.